April 21, 2008

Loudonville, N.Y. - With their MAAC Tournament aspirations hanging in the balance, the Siena Water Polo team won a pair of clutch games Sunday afternoon to propel the Green and Gold to their first tournament appearance in program history. The Saints topped Villanova and St. Francis (N.Y.) to earn the #4 seed in next week's championships.

Siena (11-18, 4-6) dug themselves an early hole in the opening day of weekend play on Saturday losing a pair of games. The Saints fell to MAAC leader Marist, who they will match up against in the First Round of the MAAC Tournament, by a score of 11-4.

Camille Norman, Jackie Crosby and Devan Ragg accounted for the Siena goals, while Norman also added a pair of assists. Lisa Reilly made nine stops in goal.

The Green and Gold also dropped their second game of the day to tournament bound Wagner by a narrow 11-10 margin.

Lauren Garrigan had a career game in the defeat, posting eight goals while also drawing four ejections. The eight goals tied a program record set by teammate Caitlin Smith on April 23, 2005 against St. Francis (N.Y.).

For the second straight game Norman added a goal and an assist while Ragg did likewise. Reilly added 14 more saves in goal.

With their backs against the wall and needing to win both of their games Sunday to have a chance at the tournament, the Saints did just that. In the first game, Siena raced out to an 8-3 halftime lead before holding off Villanova for a 14-9 win.

Offensively, Garrigan had another stellar game with five goals and three assists. Ragg added three tallies, while Crosby and Gina Guevara represented the Saints' other multiple goal scorers with a pair apiece.

On the defensive side, Siena recorded their second program record of the weekend with Reilly contributing 18 saves. The total tied teammate Kaedy Graves who had set the initial team record last year against Oregon on February 24, 2007.

The Saints concluded the weekend with arguably their biggest win in program history, a 12-8 triumph over St. Francis (N.Y.) that punched Siena's first ever ticket to the MAAC Tournament.

The Green and Gold harbored a slim 3-2 lead after the first, but raced out to a 7-3 halftime lead and never looked back.

Garrigan again was stout with six goals. Ragg dished four assists and contributed five total points, while Graves added two goals and Crosby set a career-high with six assists. Reilly made nine more saves.

The Saints finished the regular season tied in the league with St. Francis with identical 4-6 league records. With both teams having split their season series 1-1, it went to a second tie-breaker, goal differential in head-to-head games. Siena out-scored the Terriers 18-15 in their two games for an aggregate of +3 and thus earned the berth.

Siena will battle top-seed Marist on Saturday in the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament to be held in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.